Veterans would be identified on California driver’s licenses as having served their country under a bill proposed Thursday by Assembly members Jim Frazier, D-Oakley, and Richard Bloom, D-Santa Monica.

The hope, Frazier said, is that the license designation under AB 1637 would make it easier for veterans to access federal, state and local benefits, including employment, education, housing, health and counseling benefits by eliminating the “impracticality of carrying around official discharge papers.” The designation, which most states have already added to their state driver’s licenses, also helps veterans receive hotel and retail discounts when available.

Similar legislation has stalled the past two years due to cost concerns. The Assembly Appropriations Committee previously estimated that similar bills would cost $700,000 to $1.5 million to revise DMV forms and license designs. In addition, the committee said it would cost an additional $800,000 a year to collect and process applications from veterans seeking the designation on their license.

Veteran groups have supported the license designation, saying once they leave service their discharge papers serve as verification of service, but those records also contain substantial personal information that makes it not ideal for carrying around.

“Providing this simple, yet important, “Veteran” notation on California driver’s licenses and identification cards, something that 47 states have already legislated, our veterans will have better access to the resources, benefits and services that they have earned,” Bloom said in a statement.